Both slaves and free men were available for farm work and the decision of which to use had to be carefully considered
There are extant accounts of slightly more than 30 serious floods that inundated parts of the city of Rome between 400 BC and AD 400, including at least seven occasions when a Tiber flood is explicitly linked to a subsequent famine.
When large quantities of stored food were ruined or new supplies were not readily available, these shortages could even lead to widespread famine and starvation.
For the majority of persons dining in Ancient Rome, meals were centered around corn (grain), oil and wine, and, for the wealthy, different types of exotic foods.
As for famine, there were some terrible famine years during the fourth century for the whole of Greece.
Athens was able to deal with the famines, and the epigraphical record contains conferments of citizenship upon Leucon I of the Cimmerian Bosporus and upon Dionysius of Syracuse.
Plebeians were average working citizens of Rome – farmers, bakers, builders or craftsmen – who worked hard to support their families and pay their taxes.
Starvation in the U.S is not caused by scarcity of food, it is caused by poverty
The best way to lessen starvation in the U.S is to have national nutrition programs
14.5 percent of U.S. households—nearly 49 million Americans, including 16.2 million children—struggle to put food on the table
In Humboldt County and across our wealthy nation, hunger is spreading. Millions of American children go to bed hungry.
Last year, the California Center for Rural Policy surveyed over 1,000 people at Food for People's food pantries across the county
Unfortunately, the food safety net continues to shrink
In many ways, America is the land of plenty. But for 1 in 6 people in the United States, hunger is a reality.
Right now, millions of Americans are struggling with hunger. These are often hard-working adults, children and seniors who simply cannot make ends meet and are forced to go without food for several meals, or even days.
My name is Max and I am a 7th grader at Nagel Middle School in Cincinnati, Ohio. I found that you are a professor of environmental law. I am currently working on a project that required me to research a problem of the Roman Empire and use today's knowledge and tools to solve that problem. I discovered that many Romans were hungry and dying of starvation because of the amount of wars that ruined their farmland and soil. I was wondering if you could answer questions about soil degradation and the law?
1. Based upon your personal statement on your website, you said that environmental concerns impact a wide range of policies. Do you know of any current policies that the government uses to ensure farmland is not ruined or overused?
2. I have found that 1 in 6 Americans are hungry. What policies or laws are in place to contribute to this problem?
Thank you for your time!
Max Mr. Rodenparker --
There are many federal programs designed to conserve farmland, top soil, and the like. See, for instance, the programs administered by the Natural Resource Conservation Service in the USDA. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/national/home/
Citations- links from starvation in the wiki-
http://apaclassics.org/images/uploads/documents/abstracts/aldrete.pdf
http://library.thinkquest.org/26602/diet.htm
citations-
http://www.times-standard.com/guest_opinion/ci_21579550/hunger-is-not-an-american-value
http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/hunger-facts.aspx?convio_source=Y13YDIFGT&convio_subsource=gamericansstarving&gclid=CMH4xtvI77QCFQeDnQod4k8ArA
Dear Professor Adler,
My name is Max and I am a 7th grader at Nagel Middle School in Cincinnati, Ohio. I found that you are a professor of environmental law. I am currently working on a project that required me to research a problem of the Roman Empire and use today's knowledge and tools to solve that problem. I discovered that many Romans were hungry and dying of starvation because of the amount of wars that ruined their farmland and soil. I was wondering if you could answer questions about soil degradation and the law?
1. Based upon your personal statement on your website, you said that environmental concerns impact a wide range of policies. Do you know of any current policies that the government uses to ensure farmland is not ruined or overused?
2. I have found that 1 in 6 Americans are hungry. What policies or laws are in place to contribute to this problem?
Thank you for your time!
Max
Mr. Rodenparker --
There are many federal programs designed to conserve farmland, top soil, and the like. See, for instance, the programs administered by the Natural Resource Conservation Service in the USDA. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/site/national/home/
In terms of laws or policies that contribute to hunger in the United States, many programs implemented by the USDA have the effect of increasing food prices. see:http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2007/06/how-farm-subsidies-harm-taxpayers-consumers-and-farmers-toohttp://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/20120606-why-is-oxfam-concerned-about-biofuels-mandates.pdfhttp://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/biofuel-mandates-food-prices/2012/10/12/id/459723
I hope this helps.
JHA